A bar situated in a building site in Newcastle is certainly dividing opinion.

Hadrian’s Tipi, a pop-up bar and winter-themed food market, has taken up residence in the site of the former Odeon cinema on Pilgrim Street.

It features festive decorations and tents adorned with fairy lights - but piles of debris leftover from the demolition can still be seen towering near some of the stalls.

Site managers have announced that the last of the clearing should be complete by the end of November.

But in the meantime, should the site have stayed empty until all the demolition work was complete?

Passers-by on Pilgrim Street were divided over the look of the temporary bar.

Hadrian's Tipi on the site of the Old Odeon Cinema (Image: newcastle chronicle)

Anne Fielding said: “It’s very messy - if anyone comes to the city that’s what they’ll see. I think it’s dreadful.”

But others thought it had been a good idea to fill the site as soon as possible.

Margaret Meechan said: “I would rather have something there - they couldn’t do anything else, it had to come down and you can’t expect it to look wonderful overnight.”

Dave Mackenzie added: “In an ideal world they might have made it a bit tidier, but I don’t see a problem with it, it’s fine - good to have something there.”

For others, the short-term mess was not an issue - so long as the work improved the look of the area in the long-term.

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Sarah James said: “I can understand them putting something Christmassy there on a temporary basis, but I’m much more interested in what it’s going to look like permanently, especially as it’s right in the city centre.

“Parts of the centre, like Grey Street, look really nice, but I can’t really say it looks that great around here.”

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GVA, who manage the site on behalf of owners Motcomb Estates Ltd, said: “The area that is affected by this late stage in the demolition process has been securely segregated from the site that is being used for Hadrian’s Tipi.

“We appreciate the continued patience of local occupiers on this matter, and look forward to the demolition contractor completing the removal of any remaining debris by the end of November.”

Danieli Holdings said the clearing of the site was entirely the responsibility of GVA.

Newcastle City Council said the work is part of an ongoing programme to redevelop that part of the city centre.

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A council spokesperson said: “We are aware of demolition works being undertaken on Pilgrim Street by Freemont Limited, on behalf of the landowner and their agents, on the former Watson and Norham House sites.

“This is part of an ongoing programme of work being undertaken to bring forward redevelopment in this area.

“The contractor have advised that the demolition debris will be cleared in the next two weeks. Hadrian’s Tipi has and will remain fully operational during this time.”